As the use of electrical connections in manufacturing processes and products increased, it became apparent that in some applications the electrical connectors would unintentionally disconnect. One of the primary causes for the disconnection was found to be adverse conditions present in the environment where the electrical connectors were being used. The most common of these adverse conditions were generally identified as vibrational and rotational forces emanating from the environment surrounding the electrical connection which were acting on the coupling mechanisms and eventually causing the connector to disconnect. Some of the first attempts to combat these environmental forces included connectors with locking nuts. However, locking nuts were subject to loosening from vibrations as well. The use of set screws, locking washers, and adhesive solutions to prevent unintentional disconnection have also been utilized, however, these products, while providing solutions to the unintentional disconnection problem in some applications, also proved to be more expensive in that they required additional labor in their initial set up. Moreover, these "solutions" proved problematic and more expensive in those applications where intentional disconnection and reconnection of the electrical connector were needed because additional rework of the connector was often required. More recent attempts to solve the disconnection problem have included using a spring loaded projection on a portion of the connector which is then engaged with a portion of the nut. However, these attempt have been less than completely successful at preventing unintentional disconnection. As evidenced above, the prior art has various limitations and has not been completely successful at preventing unwanted rotation and loosening of the coupling mechanisms designed to maintain the electrical connector connected. As a consequence, machines, products, processes and other devices requiring these electrical connectors to function, do not operate properly due to disconnections and often require time consuming and expensive efforts to identify, locate, and repair the disconnection.
In view of the above, there remains a need for an electrical connector that is resistant to vibrational and rotational forces that originate from the environment where the electrical connector is located to prevent the unintentional disconnection of the electrical connector. The present invention addresses the shortcomings and limitations in the aforementioned prior art attempts at preventing unintentional disconnection of an electrical connector by providing a high strength, vibration resistant, and anti-rotational electrical connector assembly.